Neal Adams, who was inducted into the Eisner Award’s Will Eisner Hall of Fame in 1998 and the Harvey Awards’ Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1999, has been added to the field of nearly 150 comic creators already scheduled to attend Wizard World Big Apple Comic Con, part of North America’s largest pop-culture tour, Saturday and Sunday at Penn Plaza Pavilion.

Adams has had legendary ‘runs’ on “Batman,” “X-Men,” “Green Lantern-Green Arrow” and “Deadman.” He transformed the Batman character into his present “Avenger of the Night”; the “modern Batman,” refers to Neal Adams’ Batman. His run directly led to the realistic incarnation seen in “Batman Returns,” and the “Dark Knight” movies.

He godfathered a generation of new talent, brought down the comics code by introducing “relevant comics” and gave America its first black comic book superhero.

While fighting for creator’s rights, he convinced publishers to return original art to its creators, improved standards of comic book production, forced publishers to pay royalties…and crusaded against work-made-for-hire in the copyright law.

In addition, Neal has launched Continuity Studios, a successful production company which produced the popular Nasonex Bee Campaign and introduced us to the concept of Motion Comics. He designed the popular Terminator, T2 4-D ride, and the Spiderman Rides at Universal Studios.

Big Apple Comic Con will bring together thousands of fans of all ages and dozens of celebrities and industry professionals to celebrate the best in pop culture, movies, comics, toys, video gaming, television, gaming, original art, collectibles, contests and more. Among the celebrities scheduled to attend are Tom Felton, Morena Baccarin, James Marsters and Kristanna Loken.

The Penn Plaza Pavilion is located at 401 Seventh Avenue at 33rd St., in the historic Hotel Pennsylvania. Big Apple Comic Con Spring Edition is the fifth stop on Wizard World’s 12-city 2011 North American tour. Hours are Saturday, May 21, 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.; and Sunday, May 22, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Tickets are available in advance online at http://www.wizardworld.com/newyorkcity.html at up to a 15% savings over tickets purchased at the door. Advance adult single-day tickets are $20; two-day weekend tickets are $35, and tickets are free for children age 10 and under when accompanied by a paid adult (limit two children per adult). VIP packages with special entry and exclusive items are also available.

About Wizard World: Wizard World, Inc. produces Comic Cons and pop culture conventions across North America that celebrate graphic novels, comic books, movies, TV shows, gaming, technology, toys and social networking. The events often feature celebrities from movies and TV, artists and writers, and events such as premieres, gaming tournaments, panels, and costume contests. Wizard World, Inc. also produces Wizard World Digital, an online publication covering new and upcoming products and talents in the pop culture world, is distributed on a weekly basis to online and iPad users worldwide.